Ocean Renewable Power Co., a Portland-based hydrokinetic power company, has received $2.2 million grant from the federal Department of Energy to continue work on its innovative river and tidal turbines.

The award was announced Tuesday by Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, part of a $125 million package of grants awarded to 41 companies working on transformational energy projects, according to a statement from the secretary’s office.

A turbine prototype for a tidal power project is shown in Eastport. Ocean Renewable Power Co. claims that its prototype underwater power system has passed all of its tests, paving the way for a commercial unit to be connected to the region’s electricity grid by the end of the year. AP

ORPC, which has pioneered turbine designs to harness power in tides and rivers, intends to use the grant to improve the efficiency of its power generation systems.

“If successful, this project could reduce the cost of the installation process in which ORPC’s turbine could be placed in the water near shore, self-propel to the deployment location, and hold itself in place on the seafloor through redirected downward thrust,” according to the DOE’s statement.

ORPC made history in 2012 when its tidal power project in Cobscook Bay transmitted electricity to the grid for the first time. Two years later, it tested a river-based turbine system in a remote Alaska village.

In October, ORPC opened an office in Montreal, hoping to bring its hydrokinetic power systems to the province of Quebec.